TV – Catastrophe (Amazon)

So many shows that I’m going to recommend to you are going to take a long time to watch. Even if they’re the shortened seasons of 10-13 episodes that seem to be all the rage these days, most of those are dramatic series, and you still have to watch 60 full minutes, because the channels that do the shortened series also do no commercials. And some evenings, you can’t do that. You don’t have time to sit around watching a long show, you don’t feel emotionally prepared to invest yourself in a drama. You want something light and funny. And this is where Catastrophe will get you in the gut.

The premise is this: Rob is an advertising guy who is visiting London on business. He meets Sharon (a teacher) at a bar, and they hook up that evening, and they have a really good time but it’s essentially a one night stand. Soon after Rob has gone home to America, he gets a call from Sharon saying, whoops she’s pregnant, and so he moves to London for a while to figure things out with her. In any other show those would be spoilers. All of this takes place in about the first 10 minutes or so.

This show is RIOTOUSLY funny. Not a “chuckle to yourself” kind of funny – the kind where you ugly guffaw. The Boy and I started watching it on a whim, and we were hooked immediately. It also doesn’t hurt that there are only 6 episodes each season (yay for co-producing with the Brits! But also boo because we want more episodes!), and that each episode is only 24-ish minutes long. So you can watch 1, or do 2 in less time than it would take to catch up on the latest episode of the Americans (which – GUYS!!! – another show I love, but is on the long side). Plus, there are two seasons, so that’s 12 episodes to spread out over a few weeks (or more, but I can’t imagine you’d wait that long).

Rob and Sharon (both character and actor names) are amazing. They’ve got such good chemistry and are just perfect in every way. This show makes me want to hang out with them both. There are a bunch of people in the show you’ll recognize. It’s that lady from Extras/Ugly Betty! The Prince from The 10th Kingdom! PRINCESS LEIA!?!?! Yes, much of the first season has a lot to say about pregnancy. But as someone who has never been pregnant, I still loved it. So much of it is about relationships, and how fast things can happen, about how expectations are different, and basically you’ll love it. If you don’t…I don’t think we could be friends? I don’t know. It’s just so good. And it feels so real – like, it’s the funniest version of a real relationship you will ever see.

This show is worth every moment of your time. If you don’t like it, you’ve only wasted a half hour of your life. But if you are like me and the Boy, you will find yourself at the end of each season going, “OH MY GOD, THAT’S IT?” and desperately googling to find out if there will be more. And it looks like there will be. Phew.

So – who else has seen it? Have you watched all of it? To the finale of season 2? Because – GAHHHHHH!!! Or do you know of a similar kind of show that will get me through the next few months?